After slamming into the outside wall during the second round of qualifying for Sunday’s Kobalt 400, Carl Edwards preferred to look on the bright side, even though he will drop the rear for the start of the race in a backup car.
“In a way, starting the race from the rear is kind of fun,” Edwards said. “Other than the fact that it’s harder, it’s kind of a neat challenge. I’ve done it a bunch in my career.
“I think, statistically, when we start in the rear we do pretty well. We’ll just go for it.”
On Saturday morning, Edwards found out he had a car to justify his optimism. Driving the backup No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, he topped the speed chart at 191.564 mph.
Still, driving from 39th to the front of the field won’t be easy.
“This will be another test for our guys,” Edwards said. “They are good dealing with adversity, so it should be good.”
In warmer temperatures on Saturday afternoon, Edwards was second fastest in Happy Hour at 188.851 mph.
